The failure of the European Commission to carry out a specific impact assessment on proposals for the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is "dominating" EU budget discussions in Brussels.

That is according to Fine Gael MEP Nina Carberry who recently tabled a series of amendments to European Parliament’s first formal response to the commission’s long-term budget proposal.

Last July, the EU Commission announced its proposal to replace the traditional two-pillar structure of the CAP with a single European fund.

This marks the first time since the CAP was founded in 1962 that there would be no specific EU fund for agriculture.

The funding would be delivered by members states through individual National and Regional Partnership (NRP) Plans.

CAP

Work is underway in the parliament's budget committee to prepare a more detailed position on the future financing of the CAP.

MEP Carberry has been appointed to lead negotiations on the future CAP on the committee for the parliament’s largest political group, the EPP, which has 190 MEPs.

"In the Budget Committee, there is serious concern about the lack of a dedicated impact assessment for the CAP regulation.

"We cannot afford to redesign such a critical policy without properly evaluating what is working and what is not," the Midlands-North-West MEP said.

The European Court of Auditors has raised concerns about the lack of clarity in the commission's proposals which it warned risks creating uncertainty and delaying funds.

"We cannot ignore the experience gained from the implementation of the existing CAP Strategic Plans," Carberry said.

"Farmers have invested significant time and resources in the current framework. Those lessons must be the starting point for any future changes."

Budget

The EU Parliament has called for a minimum ring-fenced allocation of €419 billion for CAP in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

This would be a significant increase on the initial €300 billion envelope proposed by the European Commission last July.

"We cannot do more with less, especially when it comes to delivering on our generational renewal and environmental ambitions,” Carberry said.

The MEP's tabled amendments call for the CAP to remain a distinct and autonomous programme within the EU budget.